WWE News: DDP expected to be first entrant in 2017 WWE Hall of Fame, inducted by Jake 'The Snake' Roberts

First 2017 WWE Hall of Fame entrant revealed

According to The 434, the first name for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame has been released, and it is former WCW World Champion “Diamond” Dallas Page. Page has been in the professional wrestling industry for 25 years, originally making a name for himself as a manager in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) promotion. Late in his career, Page decided to start a career inside the ring, which led to a very successful tenure of wrestling for WCW.

In case you didn’t know...

During an interview with the Pancakes and PowerslamsShow Page commented regarding starting his career late.

“My goal was to get to the midcard. Because I’m 35 ½ starting. I’m hoping to wrestle until 40. Hoping to get that far. At one point when I was 38 years old, Dusty was so pivotal. He would let me vent, because nobody in that booking committee believed in me. Nobody. He wasn’t on the booking committee anymore. He wasn’t a booker. One day I was on that rant of complaining, and was like, ‘Dusty. I know I’m never gonna be the world champion, but they never give me that opp….’ Dusty interrupted by saying, ‘If you don’t believe that you’re gonna be world champion, then you need to get out of our business right now!’ There was a yellow ledger pad right next to my phone. I grabbed a pen, while I was talking to him. I wrote down, ‘I will be the world champion in five years or less.’ That was like November 26, it was 4 years, 4 months, and 14 days later. I raised that belt over my head in a four-way dance against three of maybe the top guys of all time: Hogan, Flair, and Sting. And the ‘Macho Man’ handing me the world title. You don’t get any more ‘this is your time’ than that.

The heart of the matter

DDP has been a significant figure in professional wrestling for the past 20 years, and his career in WCW alone is worthy of a Hall of Fame induction. Page is expected to be inducted by Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who attributes Page in completely transforming his life with DDPYoga. Many current wrestlers also credit DDPYoga as a lifestyle change, including legendary wrestlers Chris Jericho, Goldust, and AJ Styles. It is quite fitting that Page will be inducted by the same person who he inducted in 2014.

DDP inducts Jake Roberts into the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame

Sportskeeda’s take

Having the privilege to interview both DDP and Jake Roberts on my show, both are very thankful of the relationship built with each other during their professional wrestling career. During the early days of DDP’s wrestling career, Roberts helped him out by giving him a place to stay, which DDP returned the favor over 20 years later. Although DDP only had marginal success in the WWE, his WCW career already created a seat to dine with the elites in the Hall of Fame, and he deserves every bit of it.